Organic search optimization is a cost-effective way to improve your small business’s online visibility. It involves four key strategies: Keyword Research, Website Optimization, Local SEO & Domain Authority Building.
When implementing SEO practices on your site, it’s important to avoid certain practices that can harm your ranking. For example, keyword stuffing can lead to a bad user experience and poor search engine rankings.
On-Page Optimization
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to SEO, and many small business owners don’t know where to start. With a little guidance, you can start by auditing and optimizing your site’s on-page SEO.
This involves elements such as page titles, meta descriptions, internal linking, keyword research and more. On-page SEO is all about communicating value to search engines, which in turn helps your website rank higher on SERPs.
One of the best ways to do this is by writing high-quality content that addresses your audience’s questions and pain points. Another is by providing valuable, relevant links to other websites that may also answer their questions. And by using keywords in your page titles and content, but not to the extent that they’re “stuffed” into a piece of text (that’s called keyword stuffing). By doing these things, you can help your website rank better on SERPs for related searches. That, in turn, will drive more organic traffic to your site.
Off-Page Optimization
While on-page SEO is about ensuring that your website is following all the rules to appear in organic search results, off-page optimization is everything else that makes your site look and perform better in search engine results pages (SERPs). It involves strategies like link building, social media marketing and influencer marketing.
Basically, Google’s goal is to make sure that when people enter specific search queries, the organic results that are returned are as accurate and helpful as possible. To do that, they have to go into their massive database and find the most relevant content for that query.
There are multiple factors that influence this process, including Core Web Vitals, mobile-friendliness, secure browsing, intrusive interstitial guidelines and more. The way that these factors work is that, just as a rubber duck will float when placed in water, if your website has enough of these elements then it will gain authority and float higher in the search results.
Keyword Research
If you’re going to optimize your website for search engines, you have to start with keyword research. It’s the first step in a long process of growing your small business online, and it’s an important part of every SEO strategy.
Performing keyword research will allow you to determine what terms your audience searches for, which keywords drive traffic, and how difficult it will be to rank for those terms. This information will guide you as you plan out content and other optimizations.
In addition to the basic tools like Google Analytics and Search Console, there are several SEO-specific tools that can provide deeper insights into what keywords a page on your website has visibility for. Some of the most popular include Ahrefs, SEMrush, BrightEdge, and Moz. Many of these tools also offer audit features to improve technical SEO and backlink profiles.
Link Building
Link building is one of the most significant off-page SEO strategies. It involves acquiring hyperlinks or backlinks from other websites that point to your web pages. Search engines use these links to crawl the web and discover new websites to display in their search results. The goal of a good link building strategy is to acquire backlinks from reputable sources in your niche.
A backlink can come from a relevant blog comment, a social media post, or even a forum thread. But it’s important to note that not all backlinks are created equal. There are some, such as those from huge spammy blog networks or straight-up ad links, that can carry a penalty risk and have a negative impact on your search engine rankings.
While on-page and off-page optimization are key to a small business website’s success, a successful marketing campaign also requires establishing brand recognition. That’s where SEO comes in. Using the best practices of SEO, you can boost your website’s visibility and gain an edge over competitors.